Shoot for the Moon
The following story is NON-CANON, an''' AU,' and is rated '''MODERATE.' "Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars." / SkyClan is slowly losing it's territory, and Mintpaw, Tansypaw and Snailpaw, with a bit of help from Fawnstep, decide it is up to them to help their clan. If they succeed or fail is up to the stars… Allegiances See Here Prologue Fawnstep shifted and worked uncertainty, running her paws over her screaming sister's stomach. Buzzardtail licked her neck and jumped with every spasm. Fawnstep had only delivered kits once, and even then, she had Twigtail's help. Fernpelt yowled so loudly Fawnstep thought she didn't have any voice left to use, and suddenly, a little gray bundle tumbled out from her tail. Fawnstep jumped, grabbing her kitten and licking it backwards. It let out a squeak and wriggled its way to Fernpelt's belly. Two kits and one delivery of leaves from Weaselwhisker later, there were three kits at Fernpelt's belly. Fernpelt let out a breath and let her head fall onto her mates paws. Buzzardtail purred, looking down at the three. "What do you want to name them, love?" Buzzardtail asked softly. "Oh, I don't know. I need a sleep, first, that was awful." Fawnstep shrunk back a bit. That was her fault, after Weaselwhisker gave her those leaves she wasn't nearly as loud. She dipped her head to the cats and backed out. The moon was already behind the trees and on the other side of the sky, Fawnstep could see the pink claws of dawn rising. Weaselwhisker stepped from the warriors den and ran his head over each of Fawnstep's cheeks in turn. "StarClan, I wonder if ShadowClan heard her," he said with a light laugh. He tapped his tail to her shoulder, "Raspberry leaves." Fawnstep nodded but didn't really hear. She turned away from the tom and headed into her den, not caring to fluff up her moss before laying down. She closed her eyes and fell asleep immediately. What felt like only a few seconds later Fawnstep felt a prod at her shoulder and slowly fluttered her eyes open. In front of her sat bright white paws. She looked up slightly and was met by a black-and-tan calico face. "...Sparrowstar?" she yawned, "What is it?" Sparrowstar stood and flicked her tail for Fawnstep to follow. She did, looking back to see her still-sleeping body. Sparrowstar stepped into the nursery and placed a paw over each of the kits. "There will be three," she whispered, "With the power of the stars in their paws." Fawnstep nodded and, suddenly, her dream was overrun by the nightmare. Cats were running in that marshy gray space, cats were dying and the leaders on the Great Rock were laughing. She blinked rapidly and looked back down at the kittens and Sparrowstar. She nodded before Fawnstep could speak. Sparrowstar placed a paw on each of the kits. First on one of the gray one's patches, then on a blunt stripe on the cream one, then on the white spot on the brown one's back. All the spots glowed for a moment and Fawnstep could swear they had flashed in the shape of stars. "They will save the clan," she mewed, stepping out of the nursery and leading Fawnstep back to her den. She settled back into her body but wondered how she could sleep after that. There will be three, with the power of the stars in their paws…. One Mintkit was tumbling over her siblings in a flurry of paws and tails. She kicked Tansykit off of her, making her crash into Acornkit and Beechkit's own tumbling. Acornkit and Beechkit were two kittens that Buzzardtail and Cloudstar had found in the woods. They weren't her siblings, not really. Acornkit wasn't, at least. Mintkit turned her attention to her brother Snailkit. Snailkit had been born a she-cat, but Fernpelt told them he'd changed his mind and was a tom. Mintkit didn't care, she only cared about mossball and being the best warrior SkyClan ever saw. He was sniffing a dandelion and Mintkit figured it would be the perfect opportunity to finally successfully tackle him. Snailkit turned a bit, sniffing a new angle. Mintkit knew he could now see her if he turned a bit, but didn't let that deter her. She stepped closer and crouched down just like she'd seen Rainleap doing. She wagged her tail in the air and leaped forward at the brown tom. The fur stood up along his spine and he fell down, covering his ears with his paws. Mintkit soared right over him. She quickly regained her bearings and turned around, shaking a blade of grass from her ear. "Snailkit!" she squeaked, "No fair! You always move when I try to pounce on you! How do you always do it?" Snailkit flattened his ears to his head, and was still looking wide-eyed at the flower, "I could see you." "No you couldn't! You had to turn around to see me!" Snailkit let out a whimper and Fernpelt padded over. "Kits! Kits!" she bundled the tumbling pile of the kittens away from Mintkit, "I just groomed you! And oh, Mintkit- Mintkit!" Mintkit sat up a bit straighter, startled. Fernpelt and her friends were all staring at her, wide eyed. "You get to Fawnstep's this instant!" she snapped, pushing the kits in Snailkit's direction and following after the nervously skipping Mintkit. "Fawnstep," she called, suddenly nervous, "M-Mintkit has a thorn in her nose." What? Mintkit sat down and tapped a paw to her nose. Sure enough, she felt the wrong end of a thorn. Fawnstep stepped out of the darkness of her fern and branches to the cats, leaves in her jaws. "Are you okay, Mintkit? Does it hurt?" Mintkit shook her head. "I didn't know it was there." Fawnstep's pupils became slits for a moment, but nevertheless she sat down and caught the thorn between her teeth, pulling it out rapidly. Mintkit only felt it faintly. Fernpelt's eyes went wide. "M-Mintkit, you aren't even bleeding…!" Fawnstep's gaze shifted between Fernpelt and Mintkit. She looked as if she knew something that neither of them did. "...well," she said softly, after several seconds, "I guess you're good to go, Mintkit." "Can I still become an apprentice?" she asked quietly. "I-I guess so," Fernpelt mewed, "Sweet StarClan, how strange." Fawnstep nodded and pressed her nose to her niece's forehead. Mintkit smiled and ran back to her nursery-mates as her mother and aunt chatted. Acornkit tumbled her over. Mintkit hissed and batted his face, kicking him up and off her. Tansykit skipped over from where she was biting Beechkit's ears. "What happened, Mintkit?" she asked. Mintkit shrugged and made the appropriate noise. Before she could pounce at someone again, Buzzardtail padded over. "Uh-uh-uh, kits!" he sat in front of the nursery and bundled Snailkit into his paws, "As soon as Cloudstar comes home, you are becoming apprentices! He'll be home soon, now, all of you calm down so you can get groomed and look nice." Tansykit sat up, pretending her fur wasn't as roughed up as her siblings. Eventually, by the time her father had finished grooming Snailkit, they'd copied Tansykit's example. Mintkit shifted her paws as she waited. She hated sitting still and she hated getting groomed… but she figured it'd be nice if she put up with it for one day for her siblings. By the time Buzzardtail had finished grooming Mintkit, Cloudstar and Birdflight came back. Cloudstar purred and rubbed their heads together. He headed them toward the low-hanging thorn tree branch and yowled. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the Highbranch for a clan meeting!" Mintkit nearly leaped out of Buzzardtail's paws, but he managed to hold her back. Cloudstar looked over toward the nursery and smiled, waving his tail for the kittens to walk over. Buzzardtail gently lead them toward an opening between the cats, who had split into two groups, already knowing what ceremony this was. Fernpelt rushed over and rested her head on top of Buzzardtail's, purring. "Mintkit," Cloudstar summoned. Mintkit beamed and bounced up while her nursery-mates scowled at her. Cloudstar smiled and nodded. "You have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. Mintkit, from this moment on, until you've earned your warrior name, you will be known as Mintpaw. Your mentor will be Rainleap, I hope she passes on everything she knows to you." The gray she-cat stepped forward and in front of her, putting her head on top of Mintpaw's. She stepped back and nodded, flicking her tail for Mintpaw to step under the branch. Cloudstar went on with Tansypaw, Snailpaw, Beechpaw and Acornpaw until they were all sitting under the Highbranch. "Mintpaw! Tansypaw! Snailpaw! Beechpaw! Acornpaw!" the clan yowled, quickly ending. Not that Mintpaw minded, and from what she saw, neither did any of her nursery-mates. The crowd dispersed and Rainleap and Stoatfur flicked their tails for their apprentices to follow. Mintpaw stuck her tongue out at her brother as his mentor pulled him toward the elder's den. Rainleap stopped at a tree and shared a nod with Stoatfur. The tom and Tansypaw went one way, while Mintpaw and Rainleap went the other. Mintpaw has ecstatic, nearly bouncing on her paws. Then Rainleap stopped and faced her. "We'll be starting with hunting." Mintpaw's face and heart dropped. "Don't look at me like that!" Rainleap snapped, "You already got one thorn up your nose!" "And I didn't bleed or anything!" she boasted. Rainleap rolled her eyes and cracked a very small smile. "And you can get even more in due time, we're learning hunting. Come on, show me your crouch." Two Snailpaw was a bit nervous when he got Mousefang as a mentor. He had heard the stories from the elders that her father was a murderer named Maggottail and that she looked just like him. Petalfall specifically had told him she'd once taken one of Redstar's lives single-pawed and that she was the fiercest warrior in the clan. He could see all the futures in front of him. Mousefang would kill him. Mousefang wouldn't kill him. Mousefang would come close to killing him. Mousefang would- "Hey!" she called, "Snailpaw! Are you coming?" He let out a small whimper and, ears pressed to his head, slowly stalked over to her. Mousefang picked up some foul-smelling moss under her chin and padded toward the elder's den. She dropped the moss in front of Petalfall, who pricked her ears. "Oh, hello Mousefang. Snailpaw. Here to pick ticks?" Mousefang nodded and clawed the moss in half. She kicked her half toward Starlingfeather and Hawksnow, who were curled into eachother and preparing for a nap. "He's a bit jumpy," she mewed, "I figure it'd be good for him to stay in camp for the moment." Snailpaw sat beside Petalfall and pretended not to mind he was being talked about like he wasn't there. "I can't believe you of all cats are coming to pick ticks, Mousefang," Hawksnow yawned, "You hated it when you were an apprentice and you hated it when you were the youngest warrior." Mousefang shrugged, "But Stoatfur hated it more." Snailpaw looked down at his section of moss. StarClan knows he didn't want to put that in his mouth, but he had no idea how to pick it up. Mousefang helps me. Mousefang doesn't help me. Petalfall helps me. I don't do it and get in trouble. ...and when I get in trouble Mousefang could kill me- He looked around frantically. Petalfall was turned away and Starlingfeather and Hawksnow were asleep. Looking up a bit from Hawksnow, he saw Mousefang looking at him through the corner of her eye. She turned back to the toms. "I can't help you if you don't ask, Snailpaw," she mewed quietly. Snailpaw blinked. Paws shaking, he turned around ever-so-slightly. "I-I-I don't know how to do this, Mousefang." Mousefang set her moss down and stepped forward, nodding at him. "There you go." She then unsheathed her claws. Snailpaw blinked and let his eyes go wide. All he saw was Mousefang grabbing the moss, but his worries told him she would hurt him. He tried to focus that strange skill of his, but saw nothing but Mousefang showing him the task. He shook his head to clear the vision but it didn't calm his quivering limbs. "Now, Snailpaw," Mousefang mewed, "You have to hold onto the moss, like this." She sunk her claws into the ball, even her dewclaw. She picked it up, looking to Snailpaw to make sure he understood. She nodded to herself and set it down, then nodded again to encourage Snailpaw to copy. He looked down at his task. He spread his eyes wide again in hopes of seeing anything but nothing came to him. He reached out his still-shaking paw, which seemed to freeze and hurt the closer he reached to Mousefang. He sunk his inexperienced claws into the foul-smelling ball. He tried to squirm his dewclaw in the correct way, straining his foot. Thinking he could pick it up, he lifted his paw, moss coming with him. Mousefang nodded and let out a triumphant purr. Snailpaw stopped shaking just the smallest bit. She then turned to Petalfall's snoring body. "Now you watch," she told him, "When you see a moving black shape, you tap it on." She padded back toward the toms, tapping her tailtip on Snailpaw's shoulder, "Consider yourself lucky Petalfall has such a light pelt, Snailpaw, black-furred cats are no easy task." Snailpaw nodded and glanced over his shoulder at her just in case. Maybe all those paths were wrong, maybe Mousefang wouldn't hurt him. But then, he told himself, they were still there. What futures did Mousefang see, was this the first step of her following in her father's path? He didn't know and, quite frankly, he was a bit scared to. Did Cloudstar see the future of Mousefang harming him, too? He shook his head in attempt to clear it and focus on his task. It didn't work very well. Did Cloudstar have to look at every warrior for every apprentice and look through every path and see which would be best? Did Buzzardtail? He sighed and placed the moss on a black shape swimming through Petalfall's rose-cream fur. Suddenly Snailpaw understood why no cat liked this task, it was tedious and painful and, like Mousefang had said, two of the three elders had dark fur. Snailpaw may have been jumpy but he never wished to be with his badger-wild siblings in the forest more. Three Tansypaw skipped along after her mentor, looking around at the beautiful greenery. She wondered if she would see the shoreline that Hawksnow told about, how without it the law of deputies succeeding leaders would never be made. Or maybe Sunningrocks, that she heard Cloudstar or Rainleap talking about after Gatherings. Stoatfur stopped in front of a very tall tree, but Tansypaw dashed along to the shoreline just behind it. Stoatfur padded over and took a few laps while Tansypaw splashed in the very edge. "Hey," he said after finishing his drink, "Come on." Stoatfur padded to a different tree just further back, Tansypaw on his heels. He nodded his muzzle upward. "You're Starlingfeather's granddaughter," he informed, "Best climber in the clan." He leaped up and quickly climbed to a branch. "See how much he gave you." Tansypaw nodded. It was in a SkyClan cat's blood to climb trees well! She was going to be the next best climber in the clan, she decided. She leaped up and reached, claws unsheathed. She hooked onto a piece of bark, and for a moment, was very proud of herself. That was, until the bark splintered and fell off the tree, Tansypaw with it. Stoatfur jumped and fell downward, still attached to the branch with his hind legs. "StarClan, are you okay?" Tansypaw had landed on her feet. She shook her head and felt the bark splinters fall off. She looked up at Stoatfur, not completely registering his position. "I don't have a thorn up my nose like Mintpaw did, do I?" Stoatfur squinted, "I don't think so." Tansypaw nodded then blinked, realizing Stoatfur was upside-down. She jumped a bit, "Have I knocked everything upside-down or is that just you?" Stoatfur laughed and pulled himself back up, looking down at her from the branch. "Don't worry, you'll learn soon enough. Come on, you were doing well." Tansypaw nodded and jumped again. The bark stayed steady and made no noise of splintering, so she looked up at Stoatfur for instruction. "Just as if you were walking, Tansypaw," he said gently. Tansypaw nodded and stretched a paw out, hooking onto an uncertain piece of bark. Until, eventually, she'd made it up to Stoatfur's branch. He nodded briefly. "We'll have to work on getting you faster. But, while you're up here, let's practise your jumping." Stoatfur sat up and turned around, pointing with his tail at a branch two or three tail-lengths away. He crouched down, so Tansypaw copied. "Like this?" Stoatfur pressed his head to the branch, looking at her paws. He waved his long tail and tapped at her hind paws, moving them closer under her. He then pulled the points of her hocks out and pushed her hips down. "Tail straight out," he commanded. Tansypaw obeyed. Stoatfur sounded like he stifled a laugh. "Comfortable?" "...no." "Good," he regained his position, "Now that we're in peak leaping position, you focus all your weight on your hind legs and-!" Stoatfur pushed off the branch and landed on the one ahead of them perfectly. He landed is forepaws first and used them to pull the rest of his body correctly. Tansypaw tried to replay it in her mind, but to no avail. She took in a deep breath and figured she'd take her chances, she did as Stoatfur had told her and unhooked her claws, pushing all her weight back and then pushing off the branch. Her front paws made it onto the branch but the rest of her body, not so much. Tansypaw strained her forepaws and pulled her head above the branch. She swung her body up and hooked one back leg into the branch and pulled the rest of herself up. She let out a breath and leaned against her mentor, panting. "You aren't hurt, are you?" he asked, "That was rough." Tansypaw shook her head and caught her breath. She turned upward and stretched her eyes wide, letting them unfocus as the ground slipped away from her paws. She let her sight flow upward, taking a glance at every branch, thinner and thinner until she reached the top and saw one single bird. She closed her eyes and came back to her place next to Stoatfur. Would he make her climb all the way up there to catch it? Was Stoatfur looking up there with her. "Let's get you a drink, shall we?" he asked, stepping off the branch and onto the trunk, face-first. Tansypaw blinked, "We aren't going to catch that?" Stoatfur's ears fell back a hair, "Catch what?" Tansypaw pointed up with her muzzle, "That bird up there? I think it's a cardinal?" Stoatfur strained his head around his head around his shoulder to look up. Soon, he turned his gaze back to Tansypaw. "What are you on about? There's no cardinal up there." "No!" Tansypaw exclaimed, "It's at the very, very top of the tree." "You can't see up there." Tansypaw blinked rapidly, unable to understand how Stoatfur couldn't see up there. Then realization struck her. C-can not all cats see far away? Stoatfur flicked his tail and shuffled down, "Come on, let's get you a drink and collect some moss. You must've hit your head." Tansypaw let out a breath of disappointment, confusion and nervousness. She got back into her best copy of the crouch and started to head downward like Stoatfur. She was pressed close to the base of the tree, nervous as the ground quickly approached her. It was all in vain as, in the last fox-length, she lost her grip on the flimsy bark and fell on her chest into Stoatfur's shoulders. He let out a hiss as he fell and Tansypaw let out a whimper. As soon as she regained her bearings, Tansypaw stepped off the bigger tom. "I-I'm sorry," she mewed. Stoatfur grunted and shook off the shards of bark stuck in his cheek fur. He stepped away from Tansypaw without another word, back to the river and taking a hearty drink. Tansypaw took her own few laps and looked to the other side of the border. She let her eyes go wide again and let her senses roam over the border. A light brown tabby and a black tom were in the reeds. The black tom stopped their walk to lick her face and Tansypaw assumed she was purring. She thought about alerting Stoatfur that a patrol was coming, but she figured he wouldn't believe her. He pulled his muzzle from the river and nodded at Tansypaw to follow. She obeyed without a word, not wanting him to think she was crazier. Stoatfur lead her through the trees into a clearing were a log spread across and the grass was darker. Tansypaw could faintly see a brighter, normal-grassed clearing just ahead, but decided against using her strange skill to look ahead, just in case Stoatfur noticed. He stepped forward onto the dark grass and to the log. Tansypaw followed, a bit startled. She flexed her claws. It was softer and more soft and springy. Maybe this wasn't grass. Stoatfur turned behind him to look at his confused apprentice. He let out a mrrow of laughter. "This is moss," he informed, "Feels different alive than as bedding, doesn't it?" Tansypaw nodded and took her place beside him. Wordlessly, Stoatfur passed her a glance that told her to copy his instruction. He reached a paw up to the moss and extended his claws, scraping at the moss. Tansypaw copied, only stopping when Stoatfur did. He scrunched his moss together and nodded at Tansypaw to do the same. Her pile wasn't nearly as neat. Stoatfur smiled and stood. "What here," he mewed, ducking under the log. Tansypaw flexed her claws into the moss, trying her hardest to not let her curiosity get the best of her. Stoatfur came back soon enough, two large leaves in his jaws. He set one down in front of Tansypaw and one himself. He carefully bent the leaves with his paws, taking the stalk and tip into his mouth before bending down and scooping the moss in. Tansypaw nodded to herself and tried her best. A few scraps of her moss fell out on her chest side, but Stoatfur was satisfied. Giving her only a small smile of approval, he flicked his tail and led her back to camp. Four Back in camp, Quailheart, Weaselwhisker, Beechpaw and Acornpaw had already created the apprentice's nests, and didn't need half of Stoatfur's load and any of Tansypaw's. Weaselwhisker pressed his nose to his son's cheek, "I think Hazelwing could use some moss, she's moving into the nursery." Stoatfur's eyes lit up. "I'm getting cousins?" he asked around his leaf. Weaselwhisker smiled and purred, "Hopefully!" Stoatfur let out his own purr and padded toward the nursery. Tansypaw wouldn't mind spending a bit in here, Fernpelt's scent was still strong. She set down her moss but, before she could get settled down, Stoatfur flicked his tail. "I can make her nest," he informed, "You go visit Fawnstep." Tansypaw blinked. She didn't know what to tell Fawnstep! She'd always been able to see things that weren't in front of her, and she knew it wasn't her imagination. "I, um…" she mewed, "I-I don't know what to tell her." Stoatfur sighed and rolled his eyes, "Fine, come on then." Tansypaw felt a bit bad. She hadn't been especially close with either of her aunts, would she be disappointed to not be able to make a nest for Birdflight expecting kits? Inwardly she wondered if Stoatfur was so close with Hazelwing on account of who his father was. Fawnstep was sunbathing under a fern, and hardly cracked her eyes as Tansypaw and Stoatfur stepped in front of her. "Fawnstep?" The tabby frowned and sat up, looking the two over. "What ever is the matter?" "I think Tansypaw hit her head," he informed, "I was teaching her to climb and she fell off the trunk, then up in a branch she landed incorrectly. When she got back up, she thought she could see a cardinal and the very top of the tree." Fawnstep's eyes went wide. "I-I see," she said quietly, standing. "Well, Tansypaw, come with me. You get back to whatever you were doing, Stoatfur." The tom nodded and padded off, so Tansypaw followed Fawnstep into her root-and-dirt den. Fawnstep led her down a small tunnel and into a wide area. Sunlight flooded in from a bramble-and-root woven hole in the ceiling. Fawnstep sat down in a patch of shade and beckoned Tansypaw to join her. She obeyed, but before Fawnstep could speak, Tansypaw explained herself. "I didn't hit my head, Fawnstep, I promise! I was sitting on the branch and I looked up and-and-and!" She looked to Fawnstep, ears pressed to her head. She was ready for a diagnosis she didn't need and a strange plant-and-saliva mixture to go between her eyes. Instead, Fawnstep gave a small smile and nod of approval. Tansypaw pricked her ears, not expecting that response. She sat up straight and took a breath. "I thought all cats could see things far away. And I looked up and let my senses roam and I saw a cardinal at the tippy-top of the tree." Fawnstep nodded, "When did you first know you could do this?" She asked, her voice gentle and calming. Nothing like Stoatfur. Tansypaw turned away. "I-I don't know. All I remember is that I was out of the nursery one day and heard a bird calling and suddenly it happened. I could see it. It was a blue jay." Fawnstep nodded and looked toward the entrance of her den. After a moment of silence, she spoke. "I believe you, Tansypaw." She stepped forward and put her head on top of her niece's. "Grab a piece of prey, gather your siblings and come back to me when Mintpaw comes back." Tansypaw looked at her, confused, but nodded. Really she was just glad the medicine cat believed her, so she skipped out and toward Snailpaw, who was emerging from the elder's den. "Hi, Snail!" she greeted. The dark tom jumped, Mousefang pacing around him toward the nursery. "Oh," he said quietly, "Hi, Tansypaw." "You want to grab a bite with me until Mintpaw comes back? Fawnstep wants us in her den later." Snailpaw blinked, "Why would she want that?" Tansypaw shrugged and padded over to the ferns that covered the fresh-kill pile, Snailpaw at her side. "You wanna try a crow? I heard Quailheart say they were his favorite a few days ago." Snailpaw nodded and settled down on the corner of the structure so he was out of the way. Tansypaw dragged the big black bird from the top of the pile, placing it at his paws. "Hazelwing's expecting kits," she mewed, parting the feathers and taking a bite. "Neat." They ate in silence, so Tansypaw looked around. It was only half-past sunhigh so most warriors were on patrol or walks, not that SkyClan had very many warriors to start with. Fernpelt and Birdflight were chatting over a bird. Buzzardtail was weaving new brambles over the nursery, and Acornpaw looked to be helping- the tawny-colored tom was licking his pads. Hazelwing had laced her tail around Weaselwhisker's neck and shoulders and was licking his forehead. She really did look pregnant, Tansypaw thought. She wondered how many kittens the ginger she-cat would have with a stomach that big. Tansypaw remembered Hawksnow telling his daughter that he wished his stomach was as big as hers when she was carrying Tansypaw and her siblings. Birdflight and Fernpelt were just very large kits. She remembered seeing her mother bury her face into her paws and let out a wheezy laugh. Tansypaw let out a breath and flecked at the bird's beak. Quailheart was lying when he said crows were the best birds a cat could eat, but Tansypaw ate her half nevertheless. She gathered her paws together and decided she'd try to reach out to another clan and see their goingons. She let her paws go into ginger-and-white blobs, so much she was unable to see her black dewclaw. She let her senses go forward and out of the bramble tunnel, across the territory backyards. She continued on until she found herself at a stoney hollow. Was this ThunderClan? Looking over a holly bush, she saw three apprentices tumbling over eachother and into a big dark-ginger tom. He moved his mouth, but Tansypaw couldn't hear what he was saying. The three cats scampered off, undeterred. Her eyes started to hurt so she blinked, coming back to the real world and her strangely-patterned paws. She sighed and slumped against her brother, who let out a burp as she fell. Suddenly, a realization hit her. "Snailpaw?" she whispered. "Yeah?" he whispered back. "When you spread your eyes real big and unfocus… can you see everywhere?" Snailpaw cocked his head at her before turning to his dark paws, doing as Tansypaw had instructed. "No," he said after a moment. After another, he whispered, "When you open your eyes real big and look at something, can you see what can happen?" It was Tansypaw's turn to cock her head and try. She turned her gaze to Hazelwing and Weaselwhisker, who were now napping in the sun. She shook her head. Snailpaw looked in their direction, his pupils shrinking to slits. "She's going to have four kits," he informed, "But… she's going to lose one, maybe." Tansypaw blinked. If Snailpaw and Tansypaw could do strange things like this, could Mintpaw? Is this what Fawnstep wants to talk about? No, no… how would she know? Six Mintpaw was padding through the forest behind Rainleap, rather proud of herself. She was holding a robin and a thrush by the wings, and she'd caught them all on her own! The sun was setting and red light was flooding through the leaves and inwardly Mintpaw wondered how Rainleap would teach her anything else about hunting. Surely she wouldn't teach her to fish, she'd never seen a fish on the fresh-kill pile and she wasn't a RiverClan cat. She gulped as she remembered how she'd overheard Buzzardtail speaking to Cloudstar about RiverClan and the shoreline. SkyClan fishing made much more sense than RiverClan wanting to own a strip of land on the wrong side of the river… then again she'd also overheard her mentor speaking to Nightfur about how RiverClan were mouse-brains. Well, her mother told her that she'd used a bad kittypet word and Mintpaw should never repeat it, but she meant mouse-brains. Mintpaw scooted through the bramble tunnel. Once she emerged on the other side, Rainleap gave a tap of her tail to her shoulder and smiled before padding off toward the warriors den. Mintpaw thought it was a bit early to be going to bed, but without her mentor, didn't know what to do. She went to drop her birds on the fresh-kill pile, a bit startled at the sight of her littermates sleeping behind a skeleton. Mintpaw figured she'd do a good deed and drag it to the dirtplace for them. She needed to go there anyway. Once Mintpaw came back, she dipped her paws and muzzle into the stream by the elder's den. She took a few laps and then an idea struck her. She let out a happy hiss and sucked in a mouthful of water, rushing to her siblings before a warrior noticed and told her off. Standing over the two, she opened her mouth and let the water fall onto them. When Snailpaw yelped and Tansypaw shot up, knocking Mintpaw onto her back, she was finally proud of herself. She'd finally played a successful trick on Snailpaw! Tansypaw shook her head and blew a raspberry, cuffing Mintpaw over the ear as she sat up. Snailpaw sat up, face in quiet, neutral defeat. Mintpaw swayed her tail over the grass, and gave a huge smile in Snailpaw's direction. A prank war with her know-it-all brother was all she'd ever wanted and StarClan, she hoped this would start it. When Tansypaw forced her ears to stop drooping, she spoke. "Fawnstep wants to talk to all of us." Mintpaw stiffened, "I haven't messed with her supply for moons!" she exclaimed, "I can't believe I'm saying this, but what trouble did you two rope me into?" Tansypaw shrugged and stood, leading her reluctant siblings into the den and through the tunnel. Fawnstep looked as if she'd fallen asleep sat up and hadn't moved from the post. Tansypaw lowered her ears. "Fawnstep?" The brown she-cat straightened, dark blue eyes shooting open. Tansypaw shrunk back and Mintpaw felt the same. They hadn't disturbed a vision, had they? Fawnstep blinked, looking around at the now-dark den before landing on the apprentices. She swept her tail along the packed earth, summoning the apprentices to sit in the dusk light under the weaving. Mintpaw took her place in front of the she-cat, her siblings settling beside her. She was trying her best not to look nervous, but had no idea how she looked. Snailpaw looked absolutely petrified and Tansypaw looked expectant. Fawnstep stop and dragged the fern over the very entrance of her den. Mintpaw felt her heart sink. Fawnstep wouldn't- couldn't- would she? "There will be three," she whispered, "With the power of the stars in their paws." Mintpaw pricked her ears and glanced at her siblings. Tansypaw looked significantly more interested than Snailpaw, her blue-green eyes even brighter. Truthfully, Mintpaw was more confused than anything. Why was Fawnstep telling some hardly-apprentices instead of the leader or deputy? Fawnstep turned around and gazed at the bark and dirt shelves behind them all. "The night you were born," she went on, grabbing something off, "A cat came to me. She said there would be three. And she said you were the three." She placed the object in front of them. It was a small, dark shell. One yellow flower was sticking out, alongside three ridged leaves. Mintpaw's eyes widened in realization. "Do you three know what this is?" Fawnstep asked, her voice soft. "It's…" Mintpaw mewed, "It's a snail shell." Tansypaw nodded, "With a flower and some leaves coming out of it." "It's mint and tansy," Snailpaw corrected, even quieter. Fawnstep nodded. "Hazelwing brings me shells all the time," she explained, "The day after you were born, she brought me this one. After Fernpelt and Buzzardtail named you and I received the prophecy, a tansy flower and a mint sprig grew inside of it." Mintpaw pushed her ears back down and shifted her paws, curling her plumey tail around them. She couldn't hardly bear to look at the omen, not understanding why she off all cats was in possession of this otherworldly power. Her mother was the daughter of two rogues and Buzzardtail was an abandoned loner kit. Why should I have this instead of a clan-blooded cat? She glanced quickly around, even Snailpaw looked interested now. She felt the fur on her hackles rise and she sunk her claws into the dirt. "Why us?"